Read all the books on the BBC Big Read Top 100

Atonement. Absolutely loved it. Incredibly moving, beautiful, thought-provoking, and profound. But I still want to ask, what really happened to the lovers? I’m inclined to think, although I wish desperately that it were otherwise, that one died at Dunkirk and the other in the Blitz. I could say so much about this book but I’ve only just finished it and I feel overwhelmed by my impressions. Now I must see the movie, and make comparisons. I wonder if Cecelia should be less beautiful than Keira Knightley, although somehow she does seem to fit the part perfectly.

Atonement. It’s not on the BBC list but I want to see the movie, and therefore I feel I should read the book first. The plot line, or what I’ve gleaned of it from the movie trailers and the blurbs on the book, is incredibly intriguing. Plus I’ve always heard so much about Ian McEwan, and now I want to see what all the fuss is about, and whether it’s worth it :) I’m 30 pages in, and so very it’s great.

I finished The Golden Compass tonight…I absolutely loved it (I loved all the Harry Potter books too, but this was certainly better-written and more profound/intellectual), but as with the HP books, I don’t know what to feel. Even though Lyra’s safe there’s so much tragedy behind her that I can’t simply feel relieved, or triumphant. I feel so bad for her, and so proud of her, and so sad for everyone else and mostly for all the loss. It just breaks my heart, it gives me pause. I can’t reconcile myself to her having to betray a loved one without knowing it, simply because it was her role in fate, or having to leave her friends behind, or risk her friend’s lives for a greater destiny. I know this is the way things often are in the real world, and we often can’t understand them, but they’re just so difficult to accept.

Finished Persuasion! Really really liked it. I think tonight, I’ll move onto His Dark Materials.

I finished Castle Dor by Daphne du Maurier this morning…it’s not on the BBC list but I really like her stories, particularly the way she plays with time, and I’d been wanting to read this one for awhile. I highly recommend it, particularly for anyone who likes Rebecca. This is a re-telling of the Tristan and Isolde legend, unconsciously re-enacted by two unlikely lovers living in a small Cornish town in the 1800s. Beautiful prose, a great concept, and a riveting story (almost a mystery) to boot.

I started Persuasion this evening. I’ve read a few Jane Austen novels in the past and they’re all among my favorites, and so far I’m really enjoying this one. I like the idea of a story about wondering if something can be rekindled or even started anew, and the possibility of great love in the life of a character portrayed as fairly ordinary in appearance and just generally overlooked by most of those around her, despite her having the best values, nicest personality, etc. If it works out for her in the end, which I assume it will, it’ll be a great underdog-type story, without all the dramatic heroics that divorce others with similar themes from reality.